Welcome to The Auburn Torch, a new outlet dedicated entirely to covering Olympic sports at Auburn University.
In short, this is the outlet that covers everything else at the Everything School.
Subscribers receive articles emailed directly to their inboxes featuring in-depth coverage of Auburn gymnastics, volleyball, soccer, tennis, golf, swimming, track and more — and access to read those articles any time at auburntorch.com.
The Auburn Torch was founded on the knowledge that Auburn people love Auburn, not just Auburn football, and on the belief that a first-of-its-kind outlet dedicated entirely to Auburn’s Olympic sports can be sustainable. Simply put, The Auburn Torch believes these athletes and teams deserve to be covered more, and, with the support of its subscribers, aims to make that coverage a reality.
The Auburn Torch intends to help Auburn people love their school that little bit more by giving them that little bit more insight into these other Auburn teams — and the Torch puts an experienced reporter in position to cover these teams seriously and in a dedicated way that’s never been done before for the Auburn fanbase.
Who runs The Auburn Torch?
Justin Lee created The Auburn Torch in January 2026 after leaving a seven-year stint as sports reporter and sports editor at the Opelika-Auburn News. Lee worked full-time in newspapers for nearly 12 years, between the Opelika-Auburn News and the Odessa American, cutting his teeth before then as a freelancer and intern at the O-A News while he studied journalism at Auburn University.
Lee in his career has gained extensive experience profiling athletes, detailing big moments for dedicated fans, and writing explainers on strategies in sports that aren’t covered as often in mainstream media — and now he offers that to Auburn Torch subscribers.
What is the price for a subscription?
With an annually billed subscription price of $48, The Auburn Torch is available for $4 per month.
Monthly subscriptions are available for the Substack minimum price of $5 per month.
Those interested in offering more support to The Auburn Torch and its mission have the option of joining the “Torchbearers” subscription tier. Torchbearers will get any goodies like pocket schedules or stickers the Torch is able to produce mailed to them, plus first dibs and discounts on any potential merchandise made down the line.
What are Auburn’s Olympic sports?
More crassly put as “non-revenue sports,” the Olympic sports in NCAA athletics are essentially all the other sports outside of football, men’s basketball and baseball. While it’s impossible for The Auburn Torch to be everywhere, its aim is to fill gaps in the current media landscape by covering underserved Auburn teams.
Does Justin Lee still write columns about Auburn football or men’s basketball?
Lee’s commentary on Auburn football and men’s basketball have been picked up by The Auburn Observer.
The Auburn Observer is also on the Substack platform, with subscriptions offered at $6 by way monthly billing or $60 by way of annual billing. While the Torch doesn’t cover football or men’s basketball, subscribing to both the Torch and the Observer can get readers coverage of nearly every Auburn sport for $10 per month or less.
